Learning a language is like giving a gold deposit to your children, but without risk, because while gold may decrease in value, knowledge will not. Gold can be stolen, but knowledge always grows. – Dr. Roseann Runte, President of Victoria University, Toronto2
In business, having a second language is like having a second soul. A real asset for Canada has proven to be the ability of so many of its people to empathize with people of other lands through language. The demands of a globally competitive business environment are such that a modern education cannot be complete without significant language training. – Randall Litchfield of Canadian Business Magazine3
It’s more than conjugating verbs and learning vocabulary. It enables you to share and compare ideas with people you never otherwise would have known. – Wai-ling Ho Ching, Coquitlam, B.C.4
Knowing a second language:
increases your child’s personal pleasures such as the enjoyment of literature, art, music, theatre, travel, and personal relationships
increases your child’s understanding of and respect for other peoples and other cultures
gives your child access to a larger pool of information and to more educational and career opportunities
Learning a second language:
develops your child’s listening and learning skills as well as self-discipline
increases cognitive abilities, creating a more flexible thinker
enhances his knowledge of and his ability to communicate in his first language
makes learning a third or fourth language much easier
Life-long use of two languages:
reduces the normal effects of aging on some brain functions
has been shown to significantly delay the onset of symptoms of dementia
(Source www.ab.cpf.ca)
French Immersion has a very strong focus on spoken French within the classroom setting. The expectation is that students are speaking French, as much as possible, while in the classroom with Mme. Prior. We will be completing many authentic, conversational activities to help enhance confidence, vocabulary recognition and hopefully, continue to build students' love of the language.
Assessment will be based on french spoken in class, oral presentations, conversations and other various demonstrations.
Each week students will be engaging a variety of listening activities including "Salon", "Pechakucha" and listening to several oral communication texts to improve their understanding. Our first learning cycle will be reviewing effectively listening strategies in order to determine the main idea and supporting details of the material they are listening to.
Check out our Resources section under French for more listening activities you can complete at home (ex. Un jour, un actu and Idello).
Students will be exposed to a wide variety of French texts including short stories, dramatic plays, journal articles, websites and novels. In September, we will be starting with reading diagnostics and comprehension texts to determine a starting point for students.
Assessment will be based on students' demonstration of their understanding of the material they are reading. Assessments will be examining reading comprehension, ability to decipher main ideas and supporting details of a text, and understanding of French vocabulary, expressions, and material.
As in English, students will be completing lots of "quick writes" this year. In French, writing tends to be the area that can frustrate students the most. We will be starting by writing "SMALL", focusing on idea generation, voice, verb tenses and proper paragraph/sentence structure, before eventually moving towards more polished work, while focusing revising, editing and publishing final pieces of writing.
Each week, students will be journal writing, guided by a writing focus and theme.